US Cuts to USAID Budget Could Lead to Over 14 Million Premature Deaths by 2030

Massive budget cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), along with possible plans to dismantle the agency, could result in the premature deaths of more than 14 million people by 2030, according to a new study published in the renowned medical journal The Lancet.This information was reported by Reuters on Tuesday, 1 July.According to the news agency, the Trump administration has been reducing USAID’s budget since the beginning of 2025, citing the need to “eliminate unnecessary spending.”However, human rights activists and public health experts have repeatedly warned that this funding has been essential for supporting health systems in many low- and middle-income countries, particularly across Africa.Over the past two decades, USAID-supported programs have saved approximately 91 million lives worldwide, including 30 million children. Researchers now warn that if the current budget cuts continue and the agency is dissolved, more than 14 million new deaths could occur between 2025 and 2030—including over 4.5 million children under the age of five.The United States is the largest provider of humanitarian aid globally. According to the United Nations, the U.S. contributes 38% of the world’s humanitarian funding. Last year alone, it provided $61 billion in foreign aid, more than half of which was distributed through USAID.The Lancet study stated:“If the budget cuts announced in the first half of 2025 become permanent and prior levels of aid are not restored, the result will be an astonishing scale of preventable deaths by 2030.”U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in March 2025 that, following just a six-week review, the Trump administration had shut down 80% of USAID programs. The remaining approximately 1,000 programs are now being restructured under the State Department in coordination with Congress.Massive budget cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), along with possible plans to dismantle the agency, could result in the premature deaths of more than 14 million people by 2030, according to a new study published in the renowned medical journal The Lancet.This information was reported by Reuters on Tuesday, 1 July.According to the news agency, the Trump administration has been reducing USAID’s budget since the beginning of 2025, citing the need to “eliminate unnecessary spending.”However, human rights activists and public health experts have repeatedly warned that this funding has been essential for supporting health systems in many low- and middle-income countries, particularly across Africa.Over the past two decades, USAID-supported programs have saved approximately 91 million lives worldwide, including 30 million children. Researchers now warn that if the current budget cuts continue and the agency is dissolved, more than 14 million new deaths could occur between 2025 and 2030—including over 4.5 million children under the age of five.The United States is the largest provider of humanitarian aid globally. According to the United Nations, the U.S. contributes 38% of the world’s humanitarian funding. Last year alone, it provided $61 billion in foreign aid, more than half of which was distributed through USAID.The Lancet study stated:“If the budget cuts announced in the first half of 2025 become permanent and prior levels of aid are not restored, the result will be an astonishing scale of preventable deaths by 2030.”U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in March 2025 that, following just a six-week review, the Trump administration had shut down 80% of USAID programs. The remaining approximately 1,000 programs are now being restructured under the State Department in coordination with Congress.